I've just been invited to be Filk Guest of Honor at a convention in October. More details once it's public knowledge.
Meanwhile, I'm officially able to tell you I'll be guest of honor at Fencon in Dallas and Conchord in Los Angeles in September!
Live CD update - May 20, 2009
The Live CD is edited, mixed, and mastered and sounds great. My engineer rocks.
And now I have the fabulous Debbie Ohi doing the artwork. It's going to be smashing.
This CD, "Live From Outer Space," should be available in late August/ early September.
When the time draws nearer, I'll post a song list. For now, I'll leave you in suspense. Which beats suspended animation.
Yes, there are 2 CDs coming out this summer- the rare tracks ("Leftovers") CD in late May, and "Live From Outer Space" in late August.
"
honorable mention of the honorable mention - April 30, 2009
My song "If I Had the Copyright" won an honorable mention in the 2009 International Song contest.
I was pleased to lose out to the hilarious and brilliant Eric Schwartz, whose song "Clinton Got a Bl*wjob" took 1st in the comedy/ novelty category.
2nd place was the understated but equally hilarious George Wurbach with his song "Moe."
George's song is so funny that David Wilcox has made it a mainstay in his own concerts. Schwartz's is so... Schwartz that I don't think anyone else could pull it off.
I'm proud to be mentioned honorably among these 2 insane songs.
Live CD coming - April 4, 2009
Hard at work, when I can find time, editing last year's Live at XM radio concert into a CD!
Watch for it this summer.
Standup Comedy School! - April 2, 2009
I took a 4-week standup comedy class at the extremely cool Stress Factory Comedy Club. We "graduated" Sunday.
Footage here: http://hubcity.tv/School_of_Comedy.html
I'm at the end.
I'm Writing a Book! - March 18, 2009
My book, which I've been secretly working on since fall of last year, is slated to come out in early 2010. It will be published by Tell Me Press.
It's a collection of humorous essays such as "You Can Biopsy When I'm Dead: My 15 Least Favorite Medical Procedures," and "Top 10 Annoying Things to Say to Someone Who's Just Been Diagnosed."
I'm gathering a few pictures for possible inclusion in the book, ranging from attractive to mildly humiliating. My famous $40 wig will hopefully make it into the photo section.
guitar lessons - March 4, 2009
I've decided to go back to teaching 3 days a week so i can fund all these great projects I want to bring you- the Live CD, the leftovers CD, the book tour.
I love teaching- I've taught guitar over the years at 2 stores, my basement, 2 colleges, and 2 summer camps.
Currently I'm finishing up a beginner's group class (done through Franklin Township) and offering ongoing private lessons at Lou Rose Music in Edison, NJ and Golden Age Instruments in Wesfield, NJ.
Lou Rose is a great shop for sheet music, accessories, beginner guitars, and of course lessons. Golden Age is filled with fantastic high-end guitars, both vintage and new. Both are one-store, owner operated businesses (not franchise chain stores).
If you're interested in lessons, I've got just a few spots left. e me.
carlau@mindspring.com
Attending a Health Conference - January 8, 2009
On Jan. 7 I had the pleasure of being a live guest on 7 Second Delay with hosts Ken Freedman adn Andy Breckman. You know Andy? He is the executive prodcuer of "Monk," and wrote some great funny folk songs such as "Buffalo Bill."
What's next for Carla?
Sometimes the "next right thing" to do is really obvious. This is one of those. I have been griping about the state of our health care system for years now. Well, here are some people who are going beyond just griping and actually trying to change it, to envision what a healing, affirming, affordable, fair health care system would look like.
I jumped on board and will be attending (as a student). "Thinking Outside the Box" healthcare system design intensive in
Baltimore Maryland, Feb. 2-5.
At the end of March, I'll be attending and performing in the Cape May Singer-Songwriter festival, which boasts 150 performers on 15 stages over 2 days.
Shifting gears - December 14, 2008
I've got a lighter performing schedule in '09 so I can finish some of the many projects I've started, including a live CD that is already recorded and needs editing and CD cover design, a rare tracks CD, and a book of humorous essays.
Meanwhile, here's a goofy little video I made for one of the songs that will be on that CD ("Duet with a Klingon'):
WLSC - December 3, 2008
I was a contestant in the Williamsburg Live Song Contest in November. For anyone outside of Brooklyn, this is not in Virginia, but a neighborhood within Brooklyn. I didn't win, but I made the top 9 (of 150 selected to compete), and the guy whose song I liked the most won.
A lot like the time in 1998 or so when I was in a live song contest at Eddie's Attic with 25 other acts and I heard this duo "Lo-fi Masters." I said to myself "Those two should win. Of course, I want to win, but if they don't make it at least to the top 2, those judges are deaf.
Well, they won, and shortly after that one of the guys left the duo. The other guy went on to release a few albums and date Jennifer Aniston. Yeah, John Mayer. How much is that other guy from the "lo-fi masters" kicking himself right now? Oh, yeah I made it to the top 4 that night. And a few months after that I was playing at Eddie's and John was working the door. (The record contract took a little while to come about).
NERFA redux - November 16, 2008
I survived (and even enjoyed) NERFA this year. NERFA being the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Convention, not to be confused with the NERF Convention. Of course combining the two would make for a great event- throwing Nerf balls at any musician who sings too many songs about trains, for example.
This year, I was selected as a Formal Showcase Artist, one of NERFA's highest honors. Other Formal Showcase artists this year included Chuck Brodsky and Roy Zimmerman- great company to be in!
Supreme Court to hear the case of the F word - November 3, 2008
Big news:
Supreme Court to hear “The Case of the F word” on Nov. 4
What irony. In order for the Supreme Court to properly discuss the case about decency in broadcasting, the testimony will mostly likely be laced with so much foul language that C-Span would be put out of business if they fully covered it.
You may remember Howard Stern being taken off the air because of accusations of indecency, and threats of the FCC to exact separate fines on the station airing Stern for every single F word. He has since moved to Sirius Satellite, where he freely exercises his right to swear on a daily basis.
What case could the F word be making in defense of itself? Free speech.
All I know is, if I had the copyright on the F word, I’d be one wealthy f***ing American. Meanwhile, for this week only, in celebration of this case finally reaching the highest court in the land, You can download the F word song (bleeped for your safety) for free.
"The Indie Band Survival Guide" book is just out. And I am heavily quoted in it. Haven't had a chance yet to read anything other than the excerpts on the web, but it looks to be a great book.
Meanwhile I posted a couple youtube videos from a 2004 concert in Georgia. They're on the homepage and youtube.
You can subscribe to my videos here: http://www.youtube.com/user/carlaulbrich
I just got a videocamera that is very easy to use. Hopefully that means more videos, sooner rather than later.
Carla Ulbrich LiVE!
XM15 is proud to present Carla Ulbrich live from XM Satellite Radio Performance Theater before an audience. Get ready for Carla unleashed - one hour of PG-13 comedy. And you may find this performance on a CD sometime in 2008.
Eastern Time:
Tuesday Aug 19, noon,
Friday Aug 22, midnight
Well I just got back from another fan-diddly-tastic Chet Atkins convention. And tonight I was poking around the web to see if anybody posted video from our wildly fun late-night song circles, and I found this novel in which the main character, and FBI agent, is named Carla Ulbrich, and she spends the story trying to save a character named Chet. how cool is that? http://www.dbmnovels.com/index.html
Carla to appear at Chet Atkins Convention - July 3, 2008
What a thrill! I'll be singing a song or 3 in the "Licks and Laughter" concert at the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society Convention (CAAS) at the Music City Sheraton in Nashville. The convention runs from Wednesday night through Saturday night, July 9-11.
Also in the Licks and Laughter concert- the affable Antsy McClain of the Trailer Park Troubadours, and Todd Hallawell, a Winfield Fingerpicking Champion. Maybe a 4th person... we'll see!
I attended this convention several times before ever getting on stage last year (also for the Licks and Laughter concert). Chet was quite an icon, quite the country gentleman, and quite an entertainer. No wonder there is both an appreciation society and a convention. Like fingerpickin'? check out http://www.misterguitar.com/caas/
Be there or be... somewhere else!
Carla at XM radio studios June 26 - July 3, 2008
JUNE 26 at Noon: Carla Ulbrich in concert at XM Satellite Radio in the studio headquarters in Washington DC!
post-event note: This was a taping session in front of a studio audience on the afternoon of June 26. It has not yet been aired. Check back here sometime in August for airdates. It was great- what a room! Sir Paul McCartney played in this very room.
And yes, the lovemuffin (Joe Giacoio) made an appearance as a "Klingon."
typos, NY city - May 7, 2008
i'm known for my bad typing, and my close friends are generally amused by some of my typos. but i saw one recently that i think topped me asking my friend whether he'd be spending the weekend "working on his hose" (house). On the way into NY, we popped into the Palisades shopping ctr and there in the 99 cent store (I shop at only the finest places) was a whole pile of cheap little metal Jesus-on-a cross figurines. with the words at the bottom "Prince of Pea." It was so appalling I couldn't even laugh. I just sort of stood there and stared.
I don't go to "The" city (New York, New York, New York- is that enough new yorks?) very often.
When I have been there, I feel like I'm going to short circuit and burst into flames from the sensory
overload, then spend my life savings on a sandwich.
Then get the crap beat out of my by a mugger because I
don't have any money left to give them. (I'm from a small town). But thanks to a friend who chauffeured me into the city, I had a fabulous time playing the Upstairs Sessions series in Googie's Lounge (the Living Room) last night. It's a small room and such a fabulous format for hearing artists. Between that and the tastiest veggie burger i've ever eaten, I actually look forward to returning to the Big Apple!
note: i've just been informed that Jobim (the guy who wrote all those fantastic bossa nova tunes like "Girl/Boy/ Person from Ipanema") and Henry Mancini shared my phobia of NY city. Draw your own conclusion.
honorable chicken - April 12, 2008
"If I Had the Copyright" received an Honorable Mention in the Comedy/Novelty category in the 2007 International Songwriting Competition (ISC).
ISC received over 15,000 entries from 100 countries throughout the world.
In other news, Mike Delvecchia, a friend of mine and Philly songwriter, is naming a chicken after me!
ARRRRRkansas - March 25, 2008
Greetings Earthlings!
First and foremost, let me inform you that the official 2-letter post office abbreviation for Arkansas is AR. Just in case. I don't want you to drive up to Little Rock, Alaska hoping to hear me this Friday. It's rather out of the way. I learned this when i printed the postcards for my first CD release and one of the dates said "Little Rock, AK" (Ack! indeed).
AR Arkansas
AK Alaska
AL Alabama
also
LA= Louisiana (not Los Angeles, which is L.A.)
Well we all learned something didn't we? Except you postal workers of course. I've collected postage stamps since I was 9 (yes, and bottlecaps too, but I did give up my Archie comics collection at age 20). However, my stamp collection did not teach me the proper state abbreviations. Nor will the collecting of state quarters, which by the way, will be extended for another year to include territories such as Puerto Rico, Samoa and Guam.
Speaking of Samoa... Since you never know when you might end up on a game show or sitting next to someone on an airplane whose ear you want to chew off, here's some more trivia: Did you know the happy people of Samoa do not have a sense of humor about themselves? Don't pick on them. They're generally happy, but they do know how to open coconuts with their bare hands.
And hey did you know that in the first season of Sesame Street, Oscar the Grouch was orange? And now Sesame Street is trying to change "Cookie Monster" into "Carrot Monster." Changing Oscar's fur color was one thing, but this is going too far.
Did you know that you can write direct and make the perfect movie then ruin in with 5 seconds of poorly choregraphed fighting? (those who have seen it or read the blog I wrote called "I like kung fu movies??" will deduce I am talking about "Karate Kid 2").
Furthermore, the NY Jets and the NY Giants are both in New Jersey. And so am I. Take that New York! But, um, hey, NY, I will venture into "the city" on May 6 for a gig.
New Jersey does not have that season called "Spring" that happens in the South. They have winter from about Oct. 1 until May 31, then it's broiling hot until Labor Day. Then some rain and wind, and back to winter. Not complaining or anything, just sharing information.
I'm in the wikipedia - March 1, 2008
As the Jerk (steve Martin) would say "I'm in the wikipedia. I'm SOMEBODY!"
And I didn't even write it myself.
Someone was kind enough to take the time to do a writeup of me for the wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carla_Ulbrich
Feel free to write in with corrections/ rebuttals/ embellishments.
Ya to da U.P. - February 13, 2008
I MADE IT!
I made it there, i made it home- from "The Soo" as they say. Sault Sainte marie that is, literally a stone's throw from Canada, and *north* of Toronto. That's right, Sault is pronounced "Soo." Those crazy Kanooks. I had a gig at LSSU (Lake Superior State U) on Feb. 5.
People were telling me to bring MREs and road flares, and mylar blankets, and a hand crank to charge my cell phone, and tire chains. And, as one person put it,"There are at least 200 days a year there that aren't shipwreck weather." How reassuring... Well, all that stuff wouldn't pass through the TSA at Newark, I'm sure.
I drove from DC to Toronto in December once in a car with no heat. Once. I ran out of gas on the NY thruway on the way back because my gas gauge *froze*. I had to hitchhike 18 miles to the next exit *and back*.
Call me a wimp, but this *is* where the Edmund Fitzgerald sank.
So i took the wimpy way out and let someone else take the wheel all the way there. Flew into the County airport and took a shuttle to the hotel.
Apparently, i just missed a blizzard in each direction. One had just blown through before i got there, and another was one the way the day i left. I'm glad i did it the way i did, even if i did have get up at 4am two days in a row and sit in the Chicago O'Hare airport for 9 hours while snow canceled flight after flight on the way home.
Oh yeah- and i had fun. The college students at LSSU were great, even if they don't give a petoot about the "banished words list" their school is so famous for. It's ok; i'm from Clemson and could not care less about football.
Nice to come home to a dancing puppy and a warm happy lovemuffin. This is much better than my old single life, coming home to a cold empty apartment with half-empty suitcases and piles of paper everywhere, wondering if a rapist is hiding in my closet and if someone has stolen my mail/ belongings/ identity while i was gone.